When Pulaski County Middle School officially opened the doors in 2020, the staff had a long list of things to worry about. Making sure that new equipment worked properly, ensuring that students adapted to a new environment, and putting two schools worth of student in one building were just a few of the issues. Opening during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic was an additional hardship.
Despite all of these issues that threatened to create chaos, Mrs. Rebecah Smith has found a way as the principal at PCMS to keep the instructional days rolling along and help the students not only adapt to a new environment, but thrive in it. Students have achieved some incredible things since the school opened. Among those things are creating and building new clubs and after-school activities for students, sending choir and band students to large competitions, students working with NASA on projects to grow crops on the moon, and working on ways to add more educational and growth opportunities for students.
“I grew up in Newport News,” Mrs. Smith said. “I was actually born in Connecticut, and I lived in Maryland and North Carolina in addition to Virginia. I graduated from Menchville High School in Newport News. I attended Virginia Commonwealth University for two years and then transferred to Old Dominion University and graduated from there with a Bachelor’s Degree in History with a Minor in Political Science. I married my husband, Guy Smith, the same year I graduated from college and moved to Pulaski. I began my career as a teacher at Pulaski Middle School in 1995.”
While working at Pulaski Middle School, Mrs. Smith continued to work toward higher goals.
“In my fourth year of teaching, I attended Radford University to pursue a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership,” she said. “I graduated from Radford University in 2002 and taught for one more year before being hired as an Assistant Principal for Roanoke City Public Schools. I spent three years as an Assistant Principal … two years at Westside Elementary and one year at Fallon Park Elementary. Then, in 2006, I became the principal of Garden City Elementary. I remained their principal for eight years. In 2014, when an opportunity arose, I decided to return to Pulaski County Public Schools as the principal of Pulaski Elementary. I served as the principal there for six years. In 2020 I became the principal of the newly merged Pulaski County Middle School.”
While a career in education is not for everyone, Smith says it give her the chance to impact young people in a way other careers don’t offer.
“I became an educator because I love what public education does for our children,” she said. “Public education is the great equalizer in that it affords opportunities to everyone no matter their background, gender, socio-economic status, race, etc. A free public education does not occur in every country and has not always been a part of our history. It is a valuable commodity that has endless value and I love that I get to play a role in it.”
Smith has many great memories of her time as a teacher.
“One of my favorite memories was being SCA Sponsor with my colleague Kelly Castle at Pulaski Middle School,” Smith said. “Our group had limited funds, so the two of us were very creative in how we raised money to take the students to a leadership conference and to the state convention. Mr. Joseph Reed used to dread seeing us coming because we were always coming up with a new idea that needed approval.”
“My other favorite memory was when one of my students was so proud of his performance on the Civics SOL test,” she continued. “This may not sound special, but in the past, the eighth grade Social Studies SOL test included sixth and seventh grade U.S. History. Only 25% of the test included what I taught for the year. So, this meant that I had to incorporate what students learned the two prior years in with what I needed to teach the current school year. Also, what made it more amazing was that the student had actually failed seventh grade. He shared with me when he got the results that it was the first time he passed an SOL test. Just seeing that he was so proud of himself made my day. This memory still makes me smile even though that was more than 20 years ago.”
Mrs. Smith has continued to learn and grow since moving into an administrative role.
“My favorite part of being a principal is getting to know the people I work with and the students I see every day,” she said. “I am a people person, so I enjoy getting to know those around me. I enjoy building positive relationships with students and getting to see them years later and hear about their successes. What really makes me feel special now is having students of the students I taught many years ago. I currently work with a few of my former students which makes it even more special.”
Moving from teaching to administration, along with moving from an elementary school setting to a middle school, also provides challenges.
“The biggest challenge has been coming to the middle school,” she said. “I spent 17 years at the elementary level as a school administrator … three years as an assistant principal and 14 years as a principal. I knew it would be a challenge since I had not been at a middle school for quite a while. Even though I remembered what it was like to be a middle school teacher and I had an idea of what it would be like, I did not anticipate opening a school in a pandemic. In the first few years the pandemic made it difficult to merge two former school cultures into one new school culture. It has taken time, but our school identity is coming together more and more each year.”
Teaching and working with young people can be challenging at times, but Smith feels the rewards far outweigh any regrets.
“Education is a calling and not a job,” she said. “Being an educator is not easy and at times can be very demanding. But the rewards out way the challenges. When you are an educator, you are shaping lives and for that reason, you cannot take it lightly. It is not a profession that pays a lot, but seeing former students and hearing about their success makes it worthwhile!”
Mrs. Smith was also very thankful for those who have helped her get to this point, as well as those who she still works with.
“I want to thank my late grandmother, Gladys Fletcher, who was an excellent role model as an educator,” she said. “She began her career as a teacher and later became an elementary school librarian. I spent summers helping her discard old library books and their cards from the card catalog. She was so proud of me becoming a teacher and especially proud when I became a principal. I also have to thank my parents who did not begin their careers as teachers, but both ended up teaching at the college level. They both have always pushed me to do my best and continue to support me in my endeavors with prayers and encouraging words. I would like to thank my husband and son, who have always supported me in my career as an educator and even pitched in to help at school events over the years. Finally, I want to give a shout out to all the wonderful teachers, custodians, office staff, cafeteria staff, bus drivers, maintenance and others that I have worked with these past 28 years. And to all my former and current students, I am honored to have been part of your journey in school and I can’t wait to hear about your future endeavors!”